Apparel-hat.



Patented Oct. [6, I900. T. L. WAHONEY. APPAREL HAT.

(Application filed Oct. 19, 1898.)

Wu. mmm.

(No Model.)

llnlitnn drains l ainnr trier.

THOMAS L. MAI'IONEY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

APPAREL HAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 660,062, dated October 16, 1900.

Application filed October 19, 1898. Serial No. 694,028. \No model.)

To all whont it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS LOUIS MA- HONEY, M. D., a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented a new and useful Improve-- ment in Hats of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to produce a hat that will not press upon the main blood vessels which carry the blood to and from the scalp or upon the main nerves of the scalp, thus preventing interference with the nourishment of the scalp and hair.

My improved anatomical hat aforesaid is used with the view of'guarding against baldness and also as an aid in the treatment of baldness. The principal treatment now given for baldness consists in the application of counter-irritants to the scalp in order to attract the blood around the roots of the hair. The treatment, it will be observed, is based upon the self'evident fact that the hair will not thrive, but, on the contrary, will get thinner and thinner and finally die out, unless it is sufficiently nourished, thus implying that the Want of hair is due to the lack of blood. Hence the idea was impressed upon me that if the hair would get the normal supply of blood that nature intended it should have baldness would be prevented or existing baldness would be more successfully treated. In seeking the causes that tend to deprive the hair and scalp of the required nutriment I have found that the primary one among them is the pressure that the ordinary head-gear worn by civilized people exerts upon the temples, sides, and back of the head, where the main blood vessels and nerves are located. It has therefore been my aim to so improve the ordinary hat that it will not bear on the head at the places Where the said blood vessels and nerves are to be found and no longer obstruct the flow of blood in and about the same, but,on the contrary, will allow the blood to circulate freely throughout the various parts of the scalp at all times. This I accomplish by providing the hat on the inside where it encircles the head with a suitable number of pads so arranged that they will bear against the head only at such places where no main blood vessels or nerves exist, as I shall now proceed to describe.

Referring to the drawings hereto annexed for a detailed description of my invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view of an ordinary mans hat to which my improvement is applied. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing adjustable pads which are used in connection with a band designed to take the place of the ordinary sweat-baud. Fig. 3 is a crosssection of the said metallic hand with one of the adjustable pads connected to the same. Fig. 4 is a detailed view in perspective of one of the said adjustable pads. Fig. 5 is a perspective of another form of pad designed so as to bridge over an artery or main blood vessel. 7

Similar letters refer to similar parts in all the figures.

H represents the hat, which may be of any approved style, shape, or design and either stiff or soft, as preferred.

P designates a number of pads, which may be made of one or several pieces of cork, rubber, felt, or any other suitable substance. They are made of various sizes and shapes to conform comfortably with the parts of the head with which they are to come in contact. Any one or all of the said pads may consist of a pneumatic or air-inflated or inflatable cushion or else be used in connection with a spring, as may be found most desirable. There are five of these pads usually employed, as illustrated in Fig. l; but theirnumber may be increased or diminished at option. The pads P are arranged around the inside of the hat on a supporting-band, so that the pressure and weight of the hat comes only upon those portions of the head where there are no important blood vessels and nerves instead of all around, as heretofore. Thus I provide for a free circulation of the blood of the arteries and also relieve the pressure upon their accompanying veins and nerves. Oneof these pads is located in the middle line of the forehead and two more are located one on either side of the head above the posterior part of the ear, as near to the car as is convenient. These three pads relieve the pressure upon the anterior and posterior temporal arteries and the orbital arteries and 2 eeotez on their accompanying nerves and veins. The remaining two pads are placed in the 'back of the hat, so as to bear on either side of the occipital protuberance and relieve the pressure upon the posterior auricular and occipital arteries and their accompanying veins and nerves. All of the arteries here named supply blood to the scalp.

All persons heads are not of the same shape, and the arteries are not located in all heads in exactly the same place. Accordingly I have provided an adjustable pad P one form of which is shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. I use in connection with this pad a band M, made of metal or other suitable substance, which goes around the inside of the hat and takes the place of the usual sweat-band. The band M (shown in Fig. 2) is made from a fiat piece of metal whose edges are turned in ward until they almost meet, thus forming a space M within the band sufficiently large to receive the head of a small bolt B and leaving a slot or groove M through which the shank B of said bolt projects and along which it can be moved. As many of these small bolts are placed in the band as there are pads P to be used. When the bolts 13 are in position, their shanks pointing toward the center of the hat, the pads P may be screwed on them until the edges of the groove M are caught between the head of each bolt and the adjacent su rfacc of the pad thereon, and the several pads become fixed. If it is desired to move the pads or any of them, so that they will bear upon different spots of the head, all there is to do is to unscrew them a little, slide them to the proper place in the groove of the band M, and tighten them up again.

Fig. 5 shows a concave or curved pad P, which may be found useful in certain cases, inasmuch as it can be placed right over an artery or main blood vessel and will not touch it, merely bearing on the head by the sides of it.

As will be observed, the different forms of pads hereinabove described, in addition to relieving the pressure on the main arteries and their accompanying veins and nerves, also operate to keep the sweat-band, or that part of the hat which usually bears on the head, far enough away to permit a free circulation of the air and insure proper ventilation, thereby helping to preserve the scalp and. hair in good condition and tending to prevent baldness or cure it, as the case may be.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. An anatomical hat provided with a plurality of separate supporting-pads therein independently adjustable circumferentially of the hat, substantia ly as described.

2. An anatomical hat provided with a padsupporting band, a plurality of supportingpads, and means for securing the pads in adjusted position circumferentially of the hat on said band, substantially as described.

3. An anatomical hat provided with a flanged pad-supporting band, and a two-part supporting-pad adapted to clamp between the parts thereof said flange of said band, substantially as described.

4. A hat provided with a pad-supporting band, and a two part pad adapt-ed to be clamped on said band in ci'rcumferentiallyadjusted positions substantially as described.

Signed by me at San Francisco, California, this 12th day of October, 1898.

THOS. L. MAHONEY. 

